What does Boston bring to the table?

What are the foods or dishes i absolutely must try in Boston? Could also be a restaurant or staple. I'm a tourist staying 3 days so unfortunately i will not be able to venture far off the beaten trail.

Please forgive my ignorance, i know this question must come up a LOT but hard to find keywords to search with on this subject.

PS: I am from Montreal. We do have a lot of food types too, i am not looking to be "wowed" by something unique or exotic, just was something good, like any other foodie :)

i think that the afgan restaurant, helmand, is a very good and unique; I think that Tamarind Bay is a unique Indian restaurant; I think that one should try a lobster roll that are available at various places.

I eat a lot of Chinese food here, but there is better in other cities, especially on the West Coast.

I'm not sure if I would consider the restaurants I've listed above as "ZOMG U MUST TRY THEZE NAO" destinations, especially for a 3-day trip, but it does (hopefully) add to an answer of your question of what Boston brings to the table. :)

How about tradition? Can we go back more than 10 years? Consider Locke-Ober, or Union Oyster House, where Daniel Webster ate oysters 184 years ago and you can do the same thing at the same bar. Young adults may find it un-cool, but they will change their minds in 50 years when all these other recos are long gone and UOH is still standing.

And tune in to the rhythm of the dumbwaiter. The bar is magical, in what museum can you put your elbows and a beer on an exhibit? The building works and the shellfish are good: your objections are management and QC issues, which are curable in the long term.

I had a vague memory of this place so i asked my mother and it turns out its one of the first restaurants in my memory. We're talking "mooommy look its a seashell" young... Unfortunately, that was my first and only attempt at oysters and i got sand in my mouth that made me spit it out. I'll pass thank you :P

Not to single you out to dump on, when requesting this type of input it would be helpful if the OPs stated where they live and what kind of cuisine is available to them locally. It's a real pain, if your computer connection isn't the speediest, to jump to the OP's profile in an attempt to ferret out this info. You may miss out on potentially good ideas because some hounds look at this kind of post and dismiss it, thinking that if the OP can't be bothered to pose the question better, they can't be bothered to respond. In your case, I assume you don't want poutine or French food, but have no idea what else is local for you.

That said, other than lobster rolls, chowder, and other seafood, the Boston area is big on ice cream. Massachusetts consumes the most I.C. per person of all the 50 states, and there are interesting flavors like grapenuts. Christina's in Cambridge also has a spice shop, which makes it THE spot for unique I.C. flavors.

I'm sorry! I'm so used to Trip Advisor always putting my location next to my name, i forgot ot mention here. I'm from Montreal. My city has a lot of good french food, chinese, cantonese, japanese, greek, jewish...... as well as many other nationalities. We're not too far from each other so i don't expect something i absolutly can't get back home... but that's fine as long as it's something Boston does well.

I have never even heard of lobster roll so that is a very interesting suggestion.

It's most often lobster with a little mayo and celery on a hot dog type bun, but sometimes hot buttered lobster and sometimes a better roll like brioche.The Boston Globe and Boston Magazine have done features on them. They run the gamut - you can find them pre-made in supermarkets and even McDonalds has had them for a limited summer run. Enjoy!!!

I'd add to that, don't seek out much high end stuff either. You can do better at home. Ditto the deli culture, cured meats. Me, I'd keep it simple. Lots of good breakfast stuff here, check board. Sandwich fare... Not that there arent great places to eat but again you live in Montreal.

That's kind of you to say, but... they're not! Sure you can find a bagel worth eating in Boston (I'm partial to Bagel Rising/Espresso Royale, since I never make it over to Chelsea for Katz's) but... as a genre, they're really not very good at all.

Went to Christina's on 7/31. Not sure what happened but it seems they changed the recipe. Just went in for a scoop of chocolate. Flavor was weak and the ice cream had a gummy consistency. It hasn't been like that in the past so i'm not sure what happened. Ended up making the drive to Crescent Ridge in Sharon/Canton (Not sure which town, it's pretty close to the border) Ice cream was much better than Christina's. nice and creamy, rich chocolate flavor.

Scups on the Harbor for waterfront and food. fried clams (I like Summer Shacks). Neptune Oysters for yet more very good seafood. Don't know where you are staying but I'd also recommend our portuguese food (Casa Portugal in Cambridge for example) and, for fun, lunching around the Asian world at the Super 88 food court near BU. Italian is strong here: upscale, try Erbaluce or Via Matta. And no, we don't have good bagels! Really!

Since you brought up Summer Shack, the signature Pan-Roasted Lobster is a once-a-decade decadent indulgence. Loads of butter in the bourbon/chive/roe sauce. I've only had the winter version, not the summer one. And I think I may have heard it's only available at the Cambridge location, though that seems wrong.